The struggle for control of global communication : the formative century / Jill Hills.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hills, Jill.

Series:

History of Communication

The history of communication

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Telecommunication--History.

Telecommunication.

Globalization--History.

Globalization.

Competition, International--History.

Competition, International.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (343 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Urbana : University of Illinois Press, c2002.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Tracing the development of communication markets and the regulation of international communications from the 1840s through World War I, Jill Hills examines the political, technological, and economic forces at work during the formative century of global communication. Hills analyzes power relations within the arena of global communications from the inception of the telegraph through the successive technologies of submarine telegraph cables, ship-to-shore wireless, broadcast radio, shortwave wireless, the telephone, and movies with sound. As she shows, global communication began to overtake transportation as an economic, political, and social force after the inception of the telegraph, which shifted communications from national to international. From that point on, information was a commodity and ownership of the communications infrastructure became valuable as the means of distributing information. The struggle for control of that infrastructure occurred in part because British control of communications hindered the growing economic power of the United States. Hills outlines the technological advancements and regulations that allowed the United States to challenge British hegemony and enter the global communications market. She demonstrates that control of global communication was part of a complex web of relations between and within the government and corporations of Britain and the United States. Detailing the interplay between American federal regulation and economic power, Hills shows how these forces shaped communications technologies and illuminates the contemporary systems of power in global communications.

Contents:

Infrastructure and information in the United States of America and Britain, 1840s-1890

Following the flag : cable and the British government

Wireless and the state

The United States, trade, and communications, 1890s-1917

South America : prewar competition in infrastructure and information

The United States of America : competition for infrastructure in the interwar years

British communications, 1919-40

Cultural production and international relations.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [305]-314) and index.

ISBN:

9780252091520

0252091523

OCLC:

846492972